In this series we’ll take a fresh look at resources and how they are used. We’ll go beyond natural resources like air and water to look at how efficiency in raw materials can boost the bottom line and help the environment. We’ll also examine the circular economy and design for reuse — with an eye toward honoring those resources we do have.

While changes at home can’t solve the many environmental crises we face today, they can sure help. Through this series, we’ll explore how initiatives like curbside compost pick-up, rebates on compost bins, and efficient appliances can help families reduce their impact without breaking the bank.

Despite decades -- centuries even -- of global efforts, slavery can still be found not just on the high seas, but around the world and throughout various supply chains. Through this series on forced labor, sponsored by C&A Foundation, we’ll explore many different types of bonded and forced labor and highlight industries where this practice is alive and well today.

In this series we examine how companies should respond to national controversy like police violence and the BLM movement to best support employees and how can companies work to improve equality by increasing diversity in their ranks directly.

Compost is often considered a panacea for the United States’ tremendous food waste problem. Indeed, composting is a much better option than putting spoiled food in a garbage can destined for a landfill.

As the battle over genetically modified foods continues to rage across the planet, significant victories are being scored on both sides. The victories on the pro-GMO side usually come about as announcements made by officials after a series of meetings of men in suits, talking quietly, behind closed doors, even, perhaps, making undisclosed promises or threats. The victories on the anti-GMO side are more likely to come after noisy rallies of people who are not so well-dressed. In both cases, however, there is someone in a position of authority listening.

The latest round was heard by Judge Jaime Eduardo Verdugo of the Twelfth Federal District Court for Civil Matters of Mexico City. He obviously was not persuaded by the men in the suits. Verdugo ruled that GM corn posed ”the risk of imminent harm to the environment.” He ordered the Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture and Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, (environmental protection agency), to “suspend all activities involving the planting of transgenic corn in the country and end the granting of permission for experimental and pilot commercial plantings” immediately.

The battle over GM corn has particular significance in Mexico, the land that is universally recognized as the birthplace of maize. The people of Oaxaca have been cultivating corn for over 10,000 years. It is now home to scores of different varieties as well as its wild grass ancestor, teosinte. Recent studies have found evidence of transgenic (GM) corn that has infiltrated these traditional corn races, putting their future survival in jeopardy.

GM corn had already been banned in Mexico back in 1988. However, the government has recently been persuaded to allow experimental trials in hopes of increasing production. This week’s action came about in response to a lawsuit brought by 53 different parties, including scientists, human rights groups and environmental activists, aimed at blocking additional field trials that were being planned by several major corporations.

The groups are hoping to have the suspension turned into an outright ban.

The suspension does not affect the importation of GM corn into Mexico, so there should be no impact on U.S. corn exports. Mexico ranks second behind Japan as the largest export market for U.S. corn.

In a separate incident, Monsanto has responded to an Associated Press story about doctors in Argentina raising concerns about the misuse of glyphosate herbicides. Glyphosate, also known as Roundup®, is generally being used far more heavily in conjunction with specialized GM varieties of corn that have been developed to tolerate its herbicidal effect. Monsanto criticized the report, insisting that glyphosate is safe and putting the blame on the individuals, using the NRA’s shopworn logic that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” The company said, “If pesticides are being misused in Argentina, then it is in everyone’s best interests – the public, the government, farmers, industry, and Monsanto – that the misuse be stopped.”

A major study released last year found that rats exposed to glyphosate and GM corn developed tumors and had a higher mortality rate than the control group. The company disputed the results, though other studies have had similar findings.

RP Siegel, PE, is an inventor, consultant and author. He co-wrote the eco-thriller Vapor Trails, the first in a series covering the human side of various sustainability issues including energy, food, and water in an exciting and entertaining romp that is currently being adapted for the big screen. Now available on Kindle.

RP Siegel, author and inventor, shines a powerful light on numerous environmental and technological topics. His work has appeared in Triple Pundit, GreenBiz, Justmeans, CSRWire, Sustainable Brands, PolicyInnovations, Social Earth, 3BL Media, ThomasNet, Huffington Post, Strategy+Business, Mechanical Engineering, and engineering.com among others . He is the co-author, with Roger Saillant, of Vapor Trails, an adventure novel that shows climate change from a human perspective. RP is a professional engineer - a prolific inventor with 52 patents and President of Rain Mountain LLC a an independent product development group. RP recently returned from Abu Dhabi where he traveled as the winner of the 2015 Sustainability Week blogging competition.Contact: bobolink52@gmail.com

2 responses

It started out as a decent article until you had to go and try to associate the use of widespread misuse of spray pesticide that poisons the environment and consumers all at once, to the gun debate. Some authors really need an effing clue. I didn’t want to give the bonehead a comment lest they get extra $$ for the article. Siegel, you are a Troll! Guns don’t kill people unless used with that intent. Glycophosphate does harm people and the environment when used as intended. Stop making patently stupid analogies, troll.

Hey, DownWithMonsanto – if you would read the article more carefully, you might note that it isn’t Mr Siegel drawing the analogy to the gun debate. In fact, he is simply REPORTING that Monsanto is using the “shopworn” argument most right-thinking people understand is a weak cop-out by the NRA. Please read more carefully before commenting, and especially before nasty name-calling.